Learning how to make new discoveries that will contribute to a better understanding of normal and dysfunctional human behaviour and how to influence that behaviour.
Have you always wanted to discover what it is that makes people tick? Do you have questions about human behaviour that have not yet been tackled? Whether you are driven by scientific curiosity or are intrigued by the potential for more accurate diagnoses and for effective interventions in health or education, the Research Master’s in Behavioural Science is for you.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/bs
At Radboud University, we believe that a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to gain the best understanding of human behaviour. We combine knowledge and research methods from the fields of psychology, educational sciences and communication science. These disciplines are not taught separately but instead are brought together in most of our courses, making our approach unique.
Half of the programme consists of research experience. There are many issues you could tackle and a large research faculty you could work with. For example, there are over fifty staff members at the Behavioural Science Institute. The institute has internationally renowned researchers with expertise in a very wide range of topics. And that's not counting the other top scientists we invite to give workshops.
- Students get substantial hands-on research with a minor and major research project on different topics.
- We teach our students research methods and statistics, which we bring to life by revealing their applications to current hot issues in the field.
- Students are free to choose courses and research topics to create their own unique programme.
- Students can do the internship for their major research project abroad. Financial support for international research internships is available within Radboud University and the Behavioural Science Institute.
- You will participate in group-oriented education and be part of a small, select group of highly motivated national and international students.
- Master’s students are free to use any of the state-of-the-art equipment and labs found on campus, including the Virtual Reality Lab, Observational Lab and eye-tracking equipment.
- We have three Faculty Assistant positions for ambitious students to work alongside their course.
- A majority of our graduates gain PhD and other research positions and many students publish their Master’s thesis in peer-reviewed journals.
Due to our interdisciplinary approach, we accept Bachelor’s students from a wide variety of related fields, like psychology, pedagogy, educational science, biology, artificial intelligence and communication science. Simply put, this programme is for social scientists who want to discover the how and why behind human behaviour.
The staff of the Behavioural Science Institute at Radboud University originate from the fields of psychology, educational sciences and communication science. Together they tackle issues regarding human behaviour. We believe that in order to fully understand human behaviour you need to use knowledge from all these fields together instead of separately. For example, looking at a psychological issue from a communication perspective could offer new and valuable insights that will lead to better diagnosis or interventions.
At Radboud University we will not just teach you existing research methods in the different fields. You will also learn to look beyond conventions and combine or adjust methods from other disciplines to enable you to do research that will answer your questions. You will not only become a highly skilled researcher but also an innovative one.
More than half of the Master’s programme in Behavioural Science consists of research. In the first year you’ll do a minor project in which you choose from a list research themes that are provided by staff members or PhD students.
In the second year, you’ll do a major project in the form of a nine month internship which provides you with the experience - and data - needed to write your Master’s thesis. Most internships are carried out within the Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), working closely with colleagues, many of whom are internationally renowned researchers. However, there is also the option to arrange an internship abroad.
To broaden your scope, we expect you to choose different research themes for the minor and major projects, preferably in different groups within the BSI.
Examples of Major Projects in the field of Behavioural Science
- Differential behaviours of teachers toward boys and girls in science classes
- The role of maternal pregnancy stress and other general children’s health issues
- The recovery potential of within-workday break activities
- The effectiveness of an intervention promoting water consumption via children’s social networks
- The effectiveness of video games to reduce anxiety in children using a randomised controlled trail
- The role of experience on clinical diagnostic decision-making
- Exploring the underlying cognitive mechanisms to learn more about the ability to learn to categorise new face groups
The career prospects of a graduate of Behavioural Science are good; almost 100% of our alumni have a job.
- Skills and knowledge
Besides the necessary theoretical knowledge about behavioural science and training in advanced quantitative data analysis, this programme also offers courses (7 EC in total) that will teach you additional skills that every researcher needs: to understand the ethics of research, to understand the process of academic publishing and grant proposals, and to comment on papers and proposals of others. We also encourage students to participate in workshops, colloquia, symposia and conferences to gain experience in the international academic field of behavioural science.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/bs
